Wireless Mike

I still may post here once in awhile, but most of my future posts will be at my original blog, Wireless Mike.

So, go there from now on for any updates on me, my family, or whatever else is bouncing around in my head.

Thanks again for listening.

Fading Lights

I've put together a montage of morning show moments from over the years. It's a bit long, but hopefully you'll enjoy it.

It's set to the tune, "Fading Lights" by Genesis.

Click here to hear it.

The Stars Of The (Last) Show

The night before my last show, I realized that it had been awhile since I had aired any audio of my daughters, Megan (turning 9 later this month) and, especially Sarah (turning 3 this month).

Over the years, some of the best -- and most frequent -- feedback I got about the show was regarding my on-air stories about my daughters, and the trials and tribulations of being a parent.

Certainly a very relatable topic for most of my listeners.

So, on Monday night, with tape recorder in hand, I sat down with Megan and Sarah and had a very informal conversation with them about their summer, their interests, and just them in general.

The girls were more than eager to talk. Megan gave thoughtful responses about things she is enjoying during her summer vacation, what she'd like to be when she grows up, and also displayed some newly found piano skills by playing a couple of the songs she's been working on at piano lessons.

Sarah gave us a rundown of her invisible friends (Yageg, Yo-yo, Babe, and Hegeg -- all names she has made up), talked about her visit last week to the library, and waxed poetic about her recent trips to the potty to make poo poo.

At the end of the talk, I asked Megan if she had any last thoughts. After thanking her fans -- and she has a bunch of them -- I mentioned to her all the feedback I've received about her and Sarah over the years, I told her I loved her, she said 'love you, too', and then she said into the microphone, "I love you all, bye."

When I got to work the next morning, my original intention was to edit the interview down to about 5 minutes or so, and make that one segment during the show.

I recorded a lot more than I had thought I did, and after doing some editing, I ended up having four or five pretty good segments, that totaled way more than 5 minutes.

As I sifted through the tape, I kept coming back to Megan's last line.

Right before the last show started, I decided to make "family" the unofficial theme of the day. I opened with an old bit of Megan reciting the "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," and used the segments of the interview with the girls throughout the show. We tied in Jay's son Jack's 6-month birthday as well to fit the theme.

As the last few moments approached, I cued up Megan's final thoughts from the night before. My last show closed with Megan, on tape, saying, "I love you all, bye," followed by me saying the same thing.

Needless to say, 'ol Dad here was unable to hold back the waterworks once the mic was turned off.

I hope you enjoyed all of my family stories over the years. I'll keep you updated about me, my family, and whatever else is on my mind at my other blog, which I will try to get back to updating on a more consistent basis after the holiday weekend.

A New Day

It's a "new day" for the morning show on WJDK. Yes, I'm still employed, but I have assumed some different responsibilities with the company.

I'll have more information for you soon.

Can I Win The Stuffed Balloon?

Thanks, Homer.

Yep, Tuesday was my birthday. Both Jay and my mom seem to think I turned 40 this year. They're kidding. I think.

I'm not quite to 40 yet, although after chasing around two young girls all day and night, I feel a lot older than 40!

The girls I'm chasing are my daughters, Megan (turning nine next month) and Sarah (turning three), not two random young girls. Although, if I was chasing around two random young -- but, legal -- girls, I'd probably feel a lot younger than 40.

But I'm digressing, and regressing. Not to mention, digging myself quite a big hole, so let me take off my South Carolina governor's hat for a minute, and finish the post.

I had a great birthday, spread out over a couple of different days, celebrating with my folks this past weekend, and with my family on Tuesday.

Nice gifts, great food and beverage, plus plenty of laughs and good times.

You may have noticed that the amount of blogging, and perhaps the quality, has been cut back a bit over the last few weeks. There's a very good reason for that, which you'll find out about soon.

Show Biz: Monday 06/22/09

*** During the birthday segment -- as we recognized Kevin Schramm's birthday from Sunday -- we discovered a very entertaining sound clip from Kev.

Kind of a groan that sounds filled with anguish. Hard to explain.

Keep listening, as it will most likely make a return appearance soon.

And often.



*** Gary Beers from INXS had a birthday today, so we featured one of my favorite pop hits of the 80's during the birthday segment, "What You Need".





*** Lou Gramm is most recognized as the lead singer for Foreigner, but it was one of his solo songs that was featured today on the 80's Escape.

"Midnight Blue" -- which has an incredibly toe-tapping hook to open the song -- was a hit for Lou back in 1987.

The only decent video I could find was this clip from The Today Show, with Jay Leno!

Show Biz: Thursday 06/18/09

*** Paul McCartney is turning 67 today. Did I need to put "Sir" in front of his name?

Oh well.

We delved a little deep into Macca's collection of hits for the birthday segment, and gave you "Listen To What The Man Said" from his days with Wings.





*** The Nineties Nugget From The Newsroom was "Out Of My Head" from the group Fastball, who enjoyed success with several hits at the end of the decade, but then seemed to disappear.

They're still together, but, obviously haven't been able to recapture any of their original success.

Their debut album, which featured their three most popular songs, went platinum. The followup album? 85,000 copies sold.

Yikes.

Thhe Moosst Commmonly Misssspelled Worrds

Spelling isn't a priority in this age of texting and Twittering, but a new survey of the most commonly misspelled words in the English language reveals a list of terms that have probably never seen the light of day on a text or a tweet.

OnePoll.com recently surveyed five thousand people and found the top ten most misspelled words. They are:

1. Definitely
2. Sacrilegious
3. Indict
4. Maneuver
5. Bureaucracy
6. Broccoli
7. Phlegm
8. Prejudice
9. Consensus
10. Unnecessary

Now we need a list of the most commonly -- and purposely? -- mispronounced words. The one at the top of my list that makes me want to put my fist through a wall, or at least into a pillow, everytime I hear it...Supposably

Show Biz: Friday 06/12/09

*** Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick is having a birthday today, and with it being Flashback Friday, the tune "Surrender" was the perfect choice.

Just as it was for Conan O'Brien's cross-country run from New York to L.A. to get ready for the Tonight Show gig.

Show Biz: Tuesday 06/09/09

*** As you know by now, I'm back from my weekend with the boys in Ohio. Nobody got arrested, and everybody made it back safe and sound.

While most of the guys were eager to hit the night spots at Put-In-Bay each of our two evenings, the treat for me was having Friday night, and all day Saturday with no major responsibilities, other than helping to make sure the fridge or cooler of choice was properly stocked.

There were several guys on the trip -- out of the 18 total -- that are married with kids, and a lot of our enjoyment was just having the time, and freedom, to sit on the deck of our cabin and waste away a Saturday, reading a magazine, staring at ladies at the pool, playing bags, staring at ladies at the pool, and staring at ladies at the pool.

It was a fun weekend, but I'll admit, it was nice to get back home.



*** Jay's choice today for the Nineties Nugget From The Newsroom was "Freshmen" by the Verve Pipe.

Back On Monday

Hey gang. Sorry, I'm a day or two behind on posting. It's been a bit crazy the last few days, so, my apologies.

Just a couple of things for ya...

*** Don't forget to tune in this weekend to the sister station, 103.1 FM, WCSJ for coverage of the Coal City Lady Coalers at state. This is the first time the softball team has made it this far.

Coverage begins today at about 4:15pm, with the first pitch at 4:30 against Stanford Olympia. We'll have more on today's game, and a preview of Saturday's game during Spotlight On Sports tomorrow at 9:00am.

I've had these two vacation days -- today and tomorrow -- set in stone for months now, so I won't be on the call. Jay will get the chance to bring home a champion.

With the way Kirsten Verdun is pitching, I wouldn't bet against them.

If betting on high school sports was legal, of course.



*** Yesterday's Nineties Nugget From The Newsroom was the 1995 mega-hit from Oasis, "Wonderwall".





*** As for me this weekend, I'm headed off to a bachelor party for one of my best friends, Brian, who is getting married in July.

Here's the video of him proposing to his longtime girlfriend at the end of an ABC7 10pm newscast last spring.



I've known Brian since junior high, and the two of us have shared many a laugh over the years, poking fun at just about everything in the pop culture world, and spending a lot of our chats and conversations rehashing all the silly things we've done over the years.

When I play back my feeble attempts at play-by-play at Blackhawk games from my earlier years, Brian was usually right there next to me.

His is the voice yelling "Shoot it!" in one of the clips.

The bachelor party is in Ohio, and we leave this morning and get back Sunday. There will probably be between 15-20 guys in attendance. Hopefully, we all make it back.

Don't worry, I've left all of my auto-erotic asphyxiation equipment at home.

Not sure if Norm will think to play a little INXS for the 80's Escape in honor of the passing of David Carradine, who appears to have died the same way Michael Hutchence did.

At the very least, our first beverage of the trip should be a "Grasshopper".

Show Biz: Tuesday 06/02/09

*** Charlie Watts, drummer of the Rolling Stones has a birthday today.

Watts is one of the only drummers I've seen that while playing a simple 4/4 beat, would not hit the hi-hat when hitting the snare drum.

Not sure the significance of that, just thought I'd share.

We featured a Stones' classic from the 70's at the end of the birthday segment, "Miss You."





*** The Nineties Nugget From The Newsroom debuted today -- it will air again Thursday morning at 7:50am -- and the first song chosen was "Runaway Train" by Soul Asylum.





*** For the 80's Escape, we played something from The Bangles.

Their bass player -- Michael Steele -- turns 55 today, and our song of choice was their 1988 hit, "Hazy Shade Of Winter."

Nineties Nugget

We debut a new musical feature today, the Nineties Nugget From The Newsroom.

The segment -- in the tradition of the 80's Escape -- will feature a popular song from the nineties that you don't normally hear on WJDK.

Jay is choosing the songs, although that doesn't necessarily mean they are all favorites of his. So, if you hear "Achy, Breaky Heart", don't assume it's straight from Jay's personal mix tape. Not saying it didn't come from there...just sayin'.

Don't worry, you (most likely) won't be hearing Billy Ray, or Vanilla Ice, or the Spice Girls. There will (most likely) be no "Macarena", or "The Thong Song", or "Rico Suave".

The goal is to simply play a song that was popular when it came out, could pass as a regular song on the 'JDK playlist, and is entertaining to listen to - for you, and us.

We're going to do the segment two days a week: Tuesday at 7:20am, and Thursday at 7:50am.

If you have a suggestion for a song you'd like to hear, send it here.

Show Biz: Monday 06/01/09

*** Alanis Morissette turns 35 today. For some reason, we don't play any of her songs on WJDK - until today.

At the end of the birthday segment, we brought out her 1996 hit, "Head Over Feet."






*** It's always a treat when we have an excuse to play some Air Supply on the show -- if only because it reminds Jay and I of the hilarious infomercial that we always mimic while their songs are playing -- and for the 80's Escape today, we played "The One That You Love" on Graham Russell's (the blond one) birthday.



This video always makes me thirsty for some lemonade...

Show Biz: Thursday 05/29/09

*** The great John Fogerty celebrated a birthday on Thursday.

You gotta love the guy. He has a place in rock history with a string of classics with CCR, some big hits in the 80's, and he's still touring and making albums to this day.

He had a very catchy instrumental song a couple of years ago that nearly made it as the opening theme to the show.

During the birthday segment, we featured one of the simplest, yet memorable videos from the eighties: The seemingly never-ending extension cord that ends up in John's guitar during "The Old Man Down The Road."

John Fogerty - The Old Man Down The Road
Uploaded by jpdc11. - See the latest featured music videos.

*** It was hard to resist bringing out some Fogerty again during the 80's Escape, so I gave into temptation by playing "Centerfield"

John Fogerty - Centerfield
Uploaded by jpdc11. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

*** Carlos Zambrano had one of his annual meltdowns at Wrigley Field this week, arguing a safe call at home plate -- which was the correct call -- and got tossed by the home plate umpire.

The umpire in question, Joliet's own Mark Carlson, who was a guest on Spotlight On Sports many moons ago after he had become a major league ump.

An incredibly nice guy, by the way.

Over the years, I had lost track of whether Mark was still calling games at the Major League level. I guess, that means he's been doing just fine. Umpires, in theory at least, don't really want to be recognized, or considered part of the game in any memorable way.

So, thanks, Mark for reminding me that you still are out there. And, feel free to eject as many Cubs as you feel fit.

Here's the meltdown in case you missed it...

Show Biz: Wednesday 05/27/09

*** The very underrated Neil Finn, singer from Crowded House and Split Enz, had a birthday on Wednesday.

One of the more infectious hits from Crowded House, "Something So Strong", was featured at the end of the birthday segment.



*** Did you catch Mr. T singing at Wrigley Field the other night? Quite a treat.

Jay and I had some fun with the audio during the show Wednesday, and you get to enjoy the audio AND video below.





*** For the 80's Escape, we went back to 1980 for Paul Simon's top ten hit, "Late In The Evening."

Jon and Kate Plus Hate?

This is Kate Gosselin, of the increasingly unwatchable TLC show Jon & Kate Plus 8.

If I never see this woman on my television again, I will be a happy man.

Alas, the odds on that happening are not good. Our oldest daughter, Megan LOVES the show. Luckily, all of the adult drama has passed right over her head, so on each episode that she watches, she focuses on the kids and what they do.

Kate should take note.

The picture above depicts her "working", and doing her "job" while ignoring her kids at home. She spends about 20 days a month traveling across the country for various speakign engagements (cha-ching) and book signing (cha-ching), leaving husband Jon to take care of the kids back at their mansion (thanks to the $75,000 per episode they receive from TLC. Cha-ching!).

Then, when she does show up at the house in the premiere, she takes the kids with her to help pickj out party favors for the sextuplets 5th birthday party. She's all too eager to point out that Jon is not around for that weekend, so she has to do everything by herself -- something she whined about multiple times last night -- and then spent the rest of the episode putting on phony displays of laughter and happiness, while the people around her -- including the kids -- had grim looks on their faces.

She's narcissistic, overbearing, a shrew, selfish, and demeaning. And those are her good qualities.

I won't go into all of the details on the show, or the fractured relationship between Jon and Kate -- who seem ready for a divorce, after watching last night's season premiere -- because there are countless articles and websites that recount the details, or at least the allegations much better than I could in this post.

Just suffice it to say that, as usual, the ones that will suffer are the kids. They might not know everything that's going on, but they know enough to realize that something is wrong. Dad's not around -- probably kicked out of the house -- and Kate is bound and determined to keep those cameras around, and keep her "career" of touring the country alive, instead of staying at home where she belongs and fixing her family.

Oh, but it's all Jon's fault according to her. When allegations of her indiscretions were brought up, Kate wanted to change the subject because it made her mad. It doesn't matter. After watching this show way more than I wanted to these last few months, it's obvious her heart belongs to Benjamin Franklin.

You know, I actually don't mind if Kate is on my television in the future.

The more Megan watches, the more she'll realize how good she has it.

And, really. Chop off the hair.

It looks ridiculous.

Hawks Win!

After blowing a 3-0 lead, the Blackhawks put away Detroit in overtime last night, 4-3 at United Center.

Let's hope Martin Havlat will be okay after the crushing hit leveled upon him early in the game.

For the first five seconds or so after this hit, I thought he was dead.

This is one of the reasons I play golf.

Show Biz: Friday 05/22/09

*** A fun birthday segment today, complete with references to Mr. Bean, the classic "Shirley (surely) you can't be serious" line that never gets old, plus the chance to drop the Smiths on you.

Lead singer Morrissey turns 50 today, and on a Flashback Friday, it seemed even more appropriate to play "How Soon Is Now"





*** Bernie Taupin is also celebrating a birthday today. There are dozens of songs that we could have played for the 80's Escape from the lyricist for Elton John.

In the end, I simply went with a song that had a good beat, and works well as we approach the busy weding season.

Here's "Kiss The Bride"

Show Biz: Thursday 05/21/09

*** Stan Lynch, the drummer from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers had a birthday Thursday.

We had a double feature with Tom and the boys, with "Love Is A Long Road" up first during the birthday segment.





*** For the 80's Escape we featured "Runnin' Down A Dream". The actual video for the song which features Stan Lynch on drums is here.

The only video clips that I could embed into the blog feature Lynch's replacement on the skins, Steve Ferrone.

Show Biz: Wednesday 05/20/09

*** The immortal Cher turns 63 today. During the birthday segment -- which was filled with a lovely callback to Rusty the horse from Seinfeld -- we played her number one hit from 1973, "Half Breed".

That song is the opening part of this Cher medley from the same year.





*** Joe Cocker is 63 today. The 80's Escape this morning featured his 1989 hit, "When The Night Comes", which can be heard below.

For one of my favorite Joe Cocker related moments -- the classic clip of John Belushi imitating Cocker, with Cocker singing along on stage -- click here.

Show Biz: Tuesday 05/19/09

*** Pete Townshend had a birthday on Tuesday. For the 80's Escape, we featured one of Pete's hits as a solo artist -- he didn't have many -- "Let My Love Open The Door."

Here's a live version, complete with Phil Collins on drums.

Show Biz: Monday 05/18/09

*** Rick Wakeman, keyboard player with Yes, turns 60 today.

During the birthday segment, we played "Love Will Find A Way". Yes, "Roundabout" would have been a much more exciting choice, but I didn't have 8:29 available.





*** Martika turns 40 today, and the 80's Escape was the perfect venue to play her biggest -- and only -- hit, "Toy Soldiers".

Baseball Bets

Not sure if anyone remembers, or cares, but now that we're a little over a month into the season, I thought I'd update you on the progress of the season-long baseball bet going on between the Three Stooges (your truly, Jay, and Kevin).

It's a pretty tight race. We weighted the win total category, since the Cubs are picked by just about everyone to rack up more wins than the Phillies and White Sox. We just may not have weighted it enough.

Going off a Vegas gambling site, we had the Cubs slotted for 92 wins, the Phils for 88, and the Sox for 80. Well, Kev's just about caught me in that category (just one game behind heading into this weekend), and he's just seven behind the Sox (making up almost 50% of the deficit within the first six weeks of the year is not a good sign for Jay).

On the flip side, with the injury to Aramis Ramirez, and the slow start for Giovanny Soto, Kev is lagging behind in third place in the RBI category.

Our "goofy" stat is the Sunday winning percentage, and so far, Schramm's Cubs are a perfect 4-0.

That category was my idea.

Excuse me while I bang a baseball bat over my head.

The good thing is, the overall stats are very close for our bet, and it should make for a competitive season.

I'll update you again in a few weeks. Be sure to clear your schedule.

Show Biz: Wednesday 05/13/09

*** Stevie Wonder turns 59 today. He is one of the best -- and one of my favorite -- singers/artists of the past forty-plus years. There's no debate.

While it was tempting to reach deep into the Stevie archive during the birthday segment and bring out "I Wish", or "Living In The City", or the always satisfying "Superstition", I chose to go with one of his softer classics, the glorious "Overjoyed" from 1985.





*** One of the stories we discussed today was one that virtually all of us can relate to, the workplace refridgerator. More specifically, the food that gets left in that fridge, and the problems that arise.

We do a pretty good job here at the station of keeping our fridge pretty clean, and limiting the amount of food that sits in there for more than a few days.

Most of what's in our fridge consists of drinks and condiments, with the occasional lunch -- usually mine that I eat every day.

It's a far cry, thankfully, from the work fridge at the AT&T building in San Jose. There was so much moldy and spoiled food in there that the smell that came from that fridge when it was getting cleaned sent dozens of workers to the hospital.

A hazmat team had to be called out.

Now, there have been times here at the station that a hazmat team certainly could have been called out after some excursions in the bathroom, but never for anything in the fridge.




*** Adam Clayton of U2 is having a birthday today, so for the 80's Escape we played one of U2's hits, "New Year's Day".

Show Biz: Tuesday 05/12/09

*** Steve Winwood turned 61 on Tuesday. Always liked his stuff, whether it was with Traffic, Blind Faith, the Yardbirds, or his solo work.

I mentioned that he recently toured with Eric Clapton -- the two played together in the group Blind Faith -- and the 80's Escape song from Tuesday was Winwood's "Split Decision" from 1986.

The version below is with Clapton on guitar during their tour together from last year.

The studio version of the song features Joe Walsh on guitar, who also co-wrote the song.

Hat Trick For Patrick

Here come the Hawks!

There's still time to get on the bandwagon, folks.

Could things get much better for the Chicago Blackhawks this season? A young team, getting better day by day, their longtime play-by-play announcer, Pat Foley, back in the booth where he belongs (although, in a sad twist, wouldn't be behind the mic in the Cup Finals, if they get that far), all games on television for the first time ever, over 22,000 fans in the seats, and in the standing room sections, pushing overall season attendance to over one million, and a berth in the conference finals!

It's been an amazing transformation, and a long time coming. Back in the 60's and 70's, when Bobby Hull, Stan Makita, and Tony Esposito were stars for the team, the Blackhawks were the hottest ticket in town.

There was a brief resurgence in the mid 80's, when Denis Savard helped the 'Hawks to a couple of Conference Finals appearances.

For a time in the early 90's, the Blackhawks also enjoyed a handful of years where they were legitimate contenders for the Stanley Cup, reaching the finals once, but getting swept by Pittsburgh (I was in attendance for the final game. A sad night, for sure, but, man, I got the chance to watch a team skate around with the Stanley Cup. Even though it was the opponent, it was an awesome moment for a hockey fan like me).

When players were allowed to leave via free agency without getting paid what they deserved from "Dollar" Bill Wirtz, the team started to struggle, fans found other ways to entertain themselves, and the Blackhawks became an afterthought.

Then, Wirtz passed away, and everything turned around. Son, Rocky Wirtz took over operations, hiring John McDonough from the Cubs as President of the team. He brought back Pat Foley, all games were televised, and -- most importantly -- the team on the ice continued to improve, becoming contenders at just the right time.

Will the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup this year? Who knows? They may get swept in the next round. But, there's no denying that the future looks as bright for this team as it has in a very long time.

There's still room on the bandwagon.

Show Biz: Monday 05/11/09

*** One of the most underrated singers of the classic rock era, Eric Burdon, is celebrating a birthday today.

Even though we don't play as many 60's and early 70's songs as we used to on WJDK, there was no way I was passing up a chance to bring you some Eric Burdon vocals, so during the birthday segment we brought out a little "Spill The Wine".





*** During the 80's Escape, I played one of those obscure songs that, for some reason, has stayed in my head for over 20 years.

Back in 1987, the immortal Jon Astley had a song called "Jane's Getting Serious" that reached #77 on the Billboard Chart. Not exactly a scorching success, but, it did chart.

My friend Brian and I would constantly sing the chorus line at school, in the proper mocking tone, which is something we did -- and still do -- with virtually all worthy pop culture references.

"...Jane's getting serious...Jaaaaannne"

It's just one of those silly, random things that sticks with me, and after today, maybe it is sticking with you as well.

For what it's worth, Jon Astley has had a pretty impressive career as a music producer, helping produce, or at least master albums for The Who, Eric Clapton, Deborah Harry, Abba, George Harrison, Tori Amos, The Rolling Stones, Tears For Fears, Led Zeppelin, Level 42, Toto, Norah Jones, KT Tunstall, Van Morrison, Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel, Sting, and Bono.

Not too shabby. Sounds like Jon's been gettin' serious. Jooonnnnnnnn.

Amazing Race...To The Bathroom

On the show this morning, Jay and I recounted the events of Sunday's Amazing Race episode, when Jen and Keisha finished in last place due in large part to Jen's inability to control her bladder.

As they were racing to the finish line, Jen -- who had gulped down several bottles of water to help get her through a difficult eating challenge -- couldn't hold it anymore, and had to stop at a restroom to relive herself.

That allowed the cheerleaders to sneak ahead of them, and finish in third place, sending Jen and Keisha home.

I referenced a marathon runner who displayed much more determination, bravado, and fearlessness when he faced a similar situation while racing recently. And, this was much more than just a simple need to relieve the bladder.

Yes, this racer was faced with a more colon-related matter. A fecal matter, if you will.

However, there was no way this racer was going to let that get in his way. Either that, or he just couldn't get to the port-a-potty on time.

Click here to see what I'm talking about.

So Long, Scrubs

One of my favorite sitcoms of all time, Scrubs, signed off last night -- most likely for good.

There's a chance it will come back next year with a few of the cast members gone, including star Zach Braff, but, even though I'd welcome the chance to get a few more laughs from future episodes, considering how strong last night's finale was, I think the best plan would be for it to go away for good.

There are a large amount of great montages and clips at Youtube, and I'll just leave it up to you to dig up some of your favorites, or some clips you haven't seen in awhile from the show's past.

On today's show I played the song "Book Of Love" (the Peter Gabriel version) that played over the final scene as J.D. pondered his future outside of the fictional Sacred Heart Hospital.

While the song is strong enough on its own, seeing it in the context of what was happening on the show adds the proper amount of depth.

Here's the final scene...

Love The Drake

As you can see by the wide smile on my daughter Megan's face, she was absolutely thrilled to meet Drake Bell, the star of Nickelodeon's now defunct hit show Drake and Josh.

Drake and his band were at the Rialto Square Theatre for a concert Saturday night.

Thanks to some connections here at the station, I was able to round up an interview with Drake the day before the show. When the interview was over, I started to ask Drake if he would do me a favor. He must have already known what I was about to ask, because he interrupted me mid-sentence and said, "do you want me to record a message for your daughters?"

He must get that a lot.

As of Friday, one day before the show, I had kept the fact that Megan and I were going to the concert a secret from her. I was holding out hope that I could get Drake to help out with my favor in the hopes of really giving Megan a thrill.

I had Drake record a message to Megan basically inviting her and myself to the Saturday show. I told Drake that we had seen him perform at the Illinois State Fair in 2007, which he included in his message, and that he was hoping to see her at the show.

After recording Drake's message, I called home and had my wife let the machine pick up. Then, I played back the audio as if Drake was personally calling our house.

After picking Megan up from school, my wife and I told her there was a special message waiting for her on the phone. We rolled some video, and captured her surprised reaction to the Drake Bell "phone call".

I'd post the video, but computer speakers all across the region would probably be destroyed by the piercing scream of joy that she let out about three seconds after the message was finished.

After she asked a few obvious questions, we let her in on how he actually got around to "calling" her, and she was fine with the reveal, and still in the same amount of shock and awe.

As we prepared for the Saturday show, Megan wanted to make a poster for Drake saying that she was the "Megan" that he left the message for. A simple "Hi Drake, I'm Megan" was designed late Saturday afternoon, complete with hearts above the i's, and a big I "heart" U at the bottom.

Then, I called the box office to ask if posters could be brought to the show. A simple "No" was the response, and that was that. Of course, once we got to the show, we noticed several fans with posters, that were allowed inside. No matter. What happened later made up for it.

We had also read something about no cameras being allowed, so, foolishly, we left our digital camera at home. Then we got to the Rialto, and noticed everybody walking in with a camera, no questions asked. Then I saw a sign on the door saying that Drake would be signing autographs after the show, and that no one would be turned away.

Fortunately, we were there early enough, and we live close enough that I was able to call my wife and convince her to bring the camera to the Rialto for us to use during the night. I couldn't let this opportunity pass.

And, if we were to get to say a quick "Hi" to Drake in the autograph line, the need for the poster was gone now.

The show was good, a real solid set of fun, upbeat songs, and the appropriate amount of squeals from the primarily young female audience.

Afterward, Megan and I met up with a classmate and her dad, and we waited in the autograph line. Since we stayed for all of the songs, unlike others that preferred a better spot in line, we were at the back of the pack of autograph seekers. It was worth it, though.

As we got closer, Megan grew more and more excited. I had purchased a Drake Bell poster for her before the show, and that was what we handed over for Drake to sign. As we got to him, I told him that I was the one who interviewed him the day before, and he smiled and shook my hand. I then introduced him to Megan, the subject of his message. He smiled, shook her hand, and asked if she got his message.

Megan looked at him with a wide-eyed grin and shook her head yes. Speechless, but at least not totally unresponsive.

He kindly allowed us to take his picture with Megan, and it capped off a great two days of fun for my daughter. And me.

Yep, I'm a fan. As I mentioned in the interview, I always thought he was funny, from watching him portray the Tony Soprano-esque "Tony Pajamas" on the old Amanda Show, all the way through his time on Drake and Josh.

Plus, his music is very adult-friendly as well. His main influence is the Beatles, so it doesn't take long to follow along with his music, and find some common ground. He's talented, and watching him work the fans in his autograph line, he seems to get it, which I respect.

He went out of his way, even if just for a few seconds, and gave my daughter a couple of memories that she'll always have, and a few days she'll never forget.

Me too.

Show Biz: Tuesday 05/05/09

*** On this Cinco De Mayo, we went with a Mexican flavor with both of our musical tie-ins today, and with our drink choice from Brewed Awakenings in Morris.

The artist of choice, Santana. The drink of choice, the South Of The Boarder Mocha, featuring Mexican chocolate.

"Evil Ways" was the chosen song at 6:50a.





*** One of my favorite Santana songs from the 80's was featured on the 80's Escape.

"Winning" was the choice, and the video below shows Carlos Santana in a snazzy red scarf.

Always love the videos of a full band lip-syncing and pretending to be playing their instruments.

I'd love to hear the real audio of the shoot. You know the drummer has to actually be playing his kit, because it would be too easy to notice if he wasn't even hitting the skins.

The guitars might not even be plugged in, or turned on, who knows. The actual audio from these video shoots must be a hoot.

Love the singer, too. He looks like a cross between Andy Gibb and Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) from Die Hard.

Show Biz: Monday 05/04/09

*** Lance Bass of N'Sync turns 30 today. During the birthday segment, we played one of N'Sync's many hits, "Bye Bye Bye".





*** Congratulations to Jeff Klank of Channahon, and Kathy Lowery of Mazon, winners of our Spring Buyer's Guide grand prize.

They each receive a complete spring detail package from Dolphin Car Wash. Each prize is worth $170.



*** Today we began qualifying moms for a Mother's Day prize from Shantel's Day Spa and Salon.

At the end of the week, we'll give away an Ultimate Spa Experience from Shantel's.

Be listening for the montage of mom lyrics to play. When you hear it, be one of the first three callers at 815-941-9570 to qualify a mom in your life for the prize.



*** We also started giving away some prizes from Brewed Awakenings in Morris.

Be listening all week for the chance to win a coupon good for five free Espresso drinks from Brewed Awakenings.

By the way, I highly recommend the drink I had this morning, The Boss. It's a signature mocha, with espresso, steamed milk, mocha, and butterscotch flavor.




*** For the 80's Escape this morning, we went back to 1987 for the Genesis hit, "Land Of Confusion".

Drake Bell

We're hoping to have an interview with Drake Bell, star of the Drake and Josh show on Nickelodeon, that will air on the Saturday morning show between 6:00 and 9:00.

UPDATE: I did the interview Friday afternoon, and it will air Saturday, May 2nd, at 8:15am.

Bell is appearing in concert at the Rialto Square Theatre Saturday night, May 2nd.

I highly recommend it.

In the summer of 2007, I took my oldest daughter, Megan, to go see Bell, along with Corbin Bleu, at the Illinois State Fair. You can read about that here.

Bell's music is heavily influenced by the likes of the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Brian Setzer. His songs, written and performed by Bell and his band, are catchy, upbeat, and very accessible. If you can concentrate on the songs over top of the screaming girls, you'll notice some really good music in there.

We'll be at Saturday night's show, too. Moms and dads, if your kids have seen the commercials for the concert tomorrow, or heard me talking about it, and are bugging you to go, there are still tickets available at the Rialto Box Office.

Take them. You'll enjoy it, too.

Swine Flu Fever

I guess it's time to start paying attention to this whole swine flu problem.

It's reached the U.S. -- resulting in at least one death so far -- including a possible case in Rogers Park here in Illinois.

That's plenty close enough that it's probably a good idea to start taking some precautions. Just like I have in the above picture.

Hey, I have no idea where that mic has been.

Show Biz: Tuesday 04/28/09

*** One of the members of the group Take That is having a birthday today, so we brought out a hit for the group from the nineties during the birthday segment today.

Everyone remember "Back For Good"?





*** I was in a Steely Dan mood for the 80's Escape, so today we featured the 1981 smash, "Hey 19".

Show Biz: Monday 04/27/09

*** Sheena Easton turns 50 today. I was never much of a fan of hers in the eighties. Her short hair wasn't doing it for me, and "Morning Train" had to be one of the most annoying songs of 1981.

Then I saw her in a Bally's Fitness commercial later in the decade, and, well, let's just say I began to see her in a whole new light. "Sugar Walls" didn't hurt either.

In honor of her birthday, we featured "Strut" on the 80's Escape. Look for a pre-Grammy winning Bruce Hornsby in the video.

Yes We Can

The Chia Obama is finally here.

God Bless America!

It's Susan Boyle's World...

Meet Susan Boyle.

The videos of her singing on Britain's Got Talent -- along with other videos of other songs that she has sung -- are now the most watched viral videos. Ever.

Not bad, considering she only emerged on the scene within the last two weeks.

What caused all of the fuss? Here's the video, in case you're one of the five people that haven't seen her performance yet.

Don't get too used to her look, however. Even though she's only been famous for two weeks, she's already had a makeover.

Why? Her look -- along with a great voice -- is the big story here.

Great singers are a dime a dozen. But to succeed in the music business while looking like Julia Child, now that's a thing.

Idol Thoughts

Well, I almost had it. Thisclose to nailing a Top 5 prediction from a couple of months ago.

In February, I said on this blog that I'd be surprised if a woman made it to the American Idol Top 5 this season. Here's the excerpt:

"After one night of "semi-finals", I feel fairly safe in making the following prediction about this season of American Idol: There is no conceivable way that a woman wins this year.

None.

In fact, I'd be surprised if a woman makes the final five."

On last night's double-elimination episode, Lil Rounds and Anoop Desai were sent packing, leaving Allison Iraheta as the lone female in the final five.

My original prediction came after the first night of performances from the top 36. Here are some other gems from that February post:

"After last night, I'm pretty confident that Danny Gokey (above) will be in the top 3, and could easily win the whole thing..."

"...I think Anoop gets pretty far as well..."

"...Also, watch out for this guy. Adam Lambert is his name, and he has a voice that will not only shatter your windows, but it will proceed to levitate the broken shards of glass and whip them at your face.

He's a real threat."

Not bad, huh?

Of course, I also thought Scott Macintyre -- the blind guy, or, TBG as I referred to him in the February post -- was going to win the whole thing, so there's that, too.

I still think it's between Gokey and Lambert, but the two guys that might have the brightest future after this show are Kris Allen and Matt Giraud.

I don't think anyone would have predicted that. Especially about Allen.

Brewed Awakenings

The highlight of the week so far has been the different drinks we've received each morning from Todd and the rest of the folks over at Brewed Awakenings, the new coffee shop in Morris.

On Monday, they sent over a couple of Caramel Machiatos, which have espresso, steamed milk, and caramel. Mighty tasty

Tuesday, two different lattes were brought to us: The Black Squirrel -- espresso, steamed milk, and toasted hazelnut flavor -- and The Climate -- espresso, steamed milk, and rich, thick caramel. Both were superb.

Today, we got to try their fresh brewed coffee, which has a nice, robust flavor. Strong, but not overpowering. Solid.

We also got to try one of their blended espressos, the Warrior Granita. It's espresso, white chocolate, and raspberry. I'm not a big raspberry fan, but this was very good. The raspberry doesn't dominate the drink like I thought it would.

With the cold drinks, I like the fact that you can let it sit for awhile, and it stays the same. I sipped at it for a couple of hours, and it tasted the same at the end as it did at the beginning. With a hot drink, you feel like you have to zip through it before it gets lukewarm.

Although, maybe the trick would be to let it sit so long that it gets cold, just like an iced drink.

Maybe I'm thinking about this too much.

Anyway, we hope you've enjoyed the discussions Jay and I have had about these drinks about half as much as we've enjoyed the drinks themselves. And, while you're out and about today, stop by Brewed Awakenings on Route 47 in Morris, next to the Subway -- where the old Dunkin Donuts location used to be.

Just don't have too many at once.

Show Biz: Monday 04/20/09

*** Luther Vandross was born on this date, so during the birthday segment, we brought out one of Luther's hits from the 80's, "Stop To Love".

Just click the link for the video. It's a BMG tune, and they don't allowing embedding video clips on blogs and such. Yep, even I don't have that kind of pull.

Shocking.

It's worth it, though. Luther's rocking out while riding in a car. I think he's in a car. He's standing up while his vehicle is moving, which is all I really need to be entertained.



*** Happy 4/20 to those counterculturists out there. You know who you are.

Unless you've forgotten.

Probably no coincidence that Family Guy featured the song they did in last night's episode, which, by the way, was hilarious.





*** Anyone see Breaking Bad last night? It's emerging as one of my favorite shows.

Dark. Very dark.

As for the episode last night, all I'll say is, you'll never look at a turtle the same way again.

Show Biz: Friday 04/17/09

*** The birthday segment today featured a song that has to rank in the top five all-time television themes. Composer Jan Hammer is celebrating his 61st birthday today, and his theme song for Miami Vice is one of my favorites.

It's rare that a theme song to a show hits the charts. It's even rarer for that song -- an instrumental, too -- to go to number one, but it did back in 1985.

In fact, it's the last instrumental song to reach number one.

Cool show -- for back then, at least -- and a very cool theme.

I can remember waking up on weekend mornings, grabbing my walkman and tuning to whatever Top 40 countdown show was on, just so I could hear that song. Bought the 45, too.

Last month, I wrote about how it's not all that cool to play the keyboards -- I know, I play them -- and that no matter what you try, it just doesn't ever appear to be all that cool. Not compared to playing guitar, at least.

Hammer tried to merge the two, by playing a guitar style keyboard.

Nope. That didn't work either.





*** The Spring Buyer's Guide trivia contest has started. If you have a guide, hang on to it. All next week I'll be asking you questions, and the answers are in the guide.

When you call, make sure you have the answer, and the page number you found it on.